With the game, series and season on the line, the UH softball team turned to senior pitcher Angel Shamblin.
Like she had done so many times before, Shamblin delivered.
UH dropped the first game of the NCAA Super Regional against the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, but fought back to win Game 2 and force a third contest against the Ragin’ Cajuns to keep its postseason hopes alive.
In the deciding game on May 24, Shamblin gave up four runs on 10 hits and struck out four Ragin’ Cajuns in six innings.
However, the Cougars were shut out for just the fifth time this year and ended their season one win short of reaching the NCAA Softball World Series.
"We worked to death to get to this spot and it shows what hard work can get you. But sometimes you can only work so hard and fall short," junior shortstop Jessica Valis said. "I don’t know any program that possibly could have worked any harder without literally dying."
UH head coach Kyla Holas said coming so close to reaching the World Series would hurt "for a while."
"You were one game, and I think you could go back and say you were two pitches (away), from being in a different spot," Holas said.
She said Shamlin did all she could to keep her team in the running.
"She threw a great game," Holas said. "I think that was a lot of our offense that needed to have stepped up. That was part of our plan, that we needed to put runs on the board, and we didn’t execute."
Shamblin pitched all three games for the Cougars in the two-day series against the Ragin Cajuns. She gave up 29 hits and 13 runs in 20 innings and finished the season 37-5.
Despite the pressure riding on her, Shamblin did what she always does – threw one pitch at a time.
"I told my third baseman before the game started, ‘If something crazy goes on out there, just come and remind me "one pitch,"’ and I wrote that on my arm today," Shamblin said.
She ended her career at UH with a 94-33 record, and her .94 ERA for this year is a UH record for a single season.
Her success helped the Cougars reach milestones as a team.
UH began the regular season with a 14-game win streak and ended with a 54-11 (21-2 Conference USA) record, becoming the program with the most wins in a single season in UH history. The Cougarrs also earned their second consecutive C-USA regular season championship and first NCAA Super Regional appearance ever.
Three Cougars were also named NFCA All-Americans for the first time in the program’s history. Shamblin was elected to the second team and Valis, along with junior outfielder Laurie Wagner, were selected to the third team. UH is one of two C-USA schools with players on the team.
"It’s been an amazing year," Valis said.
Since Shamblin arrived to UH as a freshman in 2001, the Cougars have steadily improved overall and in conference competition. In 2005, UH finished with a 30-28 (11-12 C-USA) record, but improved to 40-23 in 2006 and 44-18 in 2007.
Houston has not suffered double-digit conference losses in the last three years. They finished with a C-USA record of 15-9 in 2006 and 20-4 in 2007. Their only two conference losses this year came against Southern Florida midway through the season and Tulsa in April. The Cougars lost both games by a combined 3 runs.
Shamblin said the program definitely progressed in the last few years and that she is grateful she could contribute to the team’s success.
"The girls worked hard and fought every inning and every game this year. It’s a great team," she said. "I was glad to be a part of it."
